Claudio Monument gets new home in Bicentennial Park

After being relocated twice to make way for road construction, and after being lost for 7 years after it was put in storage, the Pfc. Manuel F. Claudio Monument has found its third and final home after an official rededication ceremony on Wednesday.

After being relocated twice to make way for road construction, and after being lost for 7 years after it was put in storage, the Pfc. Manuel F. Claudio Monument has found its third and final home after an official rededication ceremony on Wednesday.

The new location looks toward the Taunton River near the World War II replica monument at Bicentennial Park, and the rededication event was attended by veterans and city and state officials.

“This is the ultimate,” said Claudette Claudio, who was just 4 years old when her uncle, Pfc. Manuel F. Claudio, who served during World War II with the Army Engineering Corps in Italy, was killed in action, reportedly after stepping on a land mine. His body was never returned to his family.

It was Claudette, of Tiverton, who chose the spot as the final place for the a 12-foot-tall, ornate granite monument.

Raymond Hague, director of veterans services, said the monument was first dedicated on July 4, 1958, then rededicated in 1970. The majestic monument was last located in overgrown vegetation under the rusty spaghetti ramps on the eastern side of Broadway, near lower Canal Street, hidden 50 feet from the road. Recently, officials from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said the monument would have to be moved again to accomodate the demolition of the spaghetti ramps.

Hague said they formed a committee to relocate the monument — a committee that included Claudette.

“She said, ‘We have to get this out in the open,’” Hague said, “very bluntly.”

With that, the senior members of the B.M.C. Durfee High School marching band played the national anthem.

City Councilor Raymond Mitchell said there are many heroes in Fall River who have made the ultimate sacrifice, like Pfc. Manuel F. Claudio.

“It’s amazing this man has had his monument moved three times,” City Council President Linda Pereira, “We in Fall River don’t forget.”

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said people too often walk by war memorials without taking notice.

“I hope when you visit this memorial that it is a tribute to a courageous man, and be mindful not all who serve make the ultimate sacrifice but continue to serve and leave their families behind.”

Claudio had many friends and was known for his proficiency at sports, Claudette told the crowd.

Claudio was an undefeated handball champion, led a winning soccer team and brought his CYO baseball team to a championship, she said.

Claudio joined the Army on April 20, 1923, and deployed to North Africa.

Less than a year later, at the age of 26, he was killed on patrol in San Carlo, Italy, when he stepped on a land mine.

After Claudio’s death, Claudette said, her uncle’s family and friends decided to create a monument in his honor so he would never be forgotten. It took 11 years of fundraising to create Claudio’s monument, she said.